Werewolf Rage Book #2 in the Taming The Wolf Series (7 page)

Ava heard the front door shut moments later as she stared up at Cyrus. Cyrus had crossed his arms over his chest and was staring at his feet, unmoving and still as a statue. Ava reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. Cyrus stepped back and turned away from her, letting her hand fall as he walked over to the fridge. He opened it and looked for his favorite soda. Ava winced as she realized that Cole had probably taken the last one. Cyrus shut the door without getting anything and turned to face her as he leaned up against the fridge.

“
Why
Ava?”

Ava copied Cyrus and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorway.
She watched Cyrus and knew she needed to be patient and understanding. But she hadn’t done anything wrong. She didn’t deserve to be treated with suspicion.

“Why
what
Cyrus?”

Cyrus’s eyebrows came together and his mouth tightened.
“Why did I come home to find you cooking for Cole? Why did I come home to find you talking to him about challenging me for you?
Why Ava?
Is that what you want? You want to see me and Cole fighting each other to the death in the park? Wasn’t getting a machete in the side enough for you?” he asked bitterly.

Ava’s mouth fell open in shock.
“You’re being such a jerk,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I told you it was nothing. It
meant
nothing. Perry told you it meant nothing. Even Cole, who would love to tell you otherwise, told you it meant nothing. Why are you acting like this? I know you have this whole alpha male thing going on, but this is ridiculous,” she said, standing up and clenching her hands at her sides as she felt a trembling wave of adrenaline flow through her blood.

Cyrus stared at her silently, frowning.
“Whatever it was you were talking about, you chose to use the example of Cole challenging me for you. There was probably a million other ways to make your point. But you chose that one. Anyone’s who has taken a basic class in psychology could tell you that your choice of example is very telling,” he said, his voice laced with fury.

Ava closed her eyes and massaged her temples.
“Perry is mated to a man named Braxton Mayhew from Tanner’s Landing. He chose her against her will. When Cole stood up for his sister, Braxton had his friends take him out to the woods to kill him. The night before her wedding, Cole helped his sister escape. They were hunted for three days on their way to Manitoba. They circled back this way but Cole’s positive that Braxton will come for Perry soon. I told her that my father would stand for her. I told her that we all would and Cole laughed at me. He said no way would any man go up against another man who was coming for his mate. So I used a personal example so he would get it.
He got it
,” she said tiredly, looking up to see Cyrus blink in surprise.

As the barely controlled fury faded from Cyrus’s eyes, she stared at him coldly.
She waited right up until the moment that guilt passed over his eyes before she nodded. “
What was that?”
she prompted. “Did you want to say something to me?” she said sarcastically with an undercurrent of anger in her voice.

Cyrus held up his hands as he took a step toward her.
“Can you blame me?” he asked softly, taking another step toward her.

Ava glared hotly at Cyrus and moved to keep the counter in between them.
“
Yes
.”

Cyrus sighed loudly and moved around the counter.
Ava moved in the opposite direction. “Can you put yourself in my shoes for just a minute?” he asked, smiling crookedly at her as he moved around the other side of the counter trying to catch her.

Ava countered and moved quickly away from him.
“Your shoes are too covered in crap for me to want to try one on right now. Thanks, but no. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go read in my room for the rest of the night. When my father comes home, will you tell him that I need to talk to him? I need to find out who will stand for Perry,” she said coolly before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

Within two seconds, she had Cyrus’s arms around her, holding her close against his chest.
She rolled her eyes, still completely furious with him. His lack of trust in her was starting to get really old.

“
Please
Ava,” he whispered in her hair.

Ava stayed stiff in his arms, not giving in to the embrace.
“I’m sick of it Cyrus. What will it take for you to trust me? If you don’t trust me, then we don’t have any basis for a relationship or a commitment of any kind really,” she said sadly.

Cyrus growled low in his throat and he held her tighter.
“Don’t say that!” he said and then twisted her around to face him. They were practically nose to nose now and Cyrus’s eyes were a blazing electric blue and he was breathing hard.

Ava blinked and stared at him in consternation.
He was so upset he was about to lose control. She gasped as he let go of her, pushing her away from him as his breath came faster and he fought the change.

Ava covered her mouth with her hand as she moved away from Cyrus.
His inner wolf out of control, she could sense the churning, gut wrenching emotions, fighting to get out. “
Cyrus?
” she said softly just as he jumped up and turned into a large, furious brown wolf.

She jumped back, further into the hallway as the wolf turned and stared at her.
The wolf growled and then tilted his head back and howled, the sound full of pain and passion. She turned and ran for the front door, ripping it open just as Cyrus flew past her and outside. She watched him disappear and stared after him. She felt so torn. She was angry at him for not trusting her, but it ripped out her heart to know that she had caused him pain too.

She noticed a movement from the park and looked over to see Perry and Cole watching her from a bench.
Cole looked from the point where Cyrus had disappeared back to her, his eyes gleaming brightly at her in the dusk. She stepped back inside and shut the door firmly with a bang. Cole had caused her enough trouble for one night.

She walked back, dejectedly to the kitchen and straightened up, putting their dishes in the dishwasher and wiping the table down.
She wandered outside and headed to the very back of the yard where she jumped the fence easily and headed for Cyrus’s special rock. She had some thinking to do and she needed peace and quiet to do it in.

She hopped up on the rock and pulled her knees up to her chest.
She leaned her chin on her knees and moaned softly. She hated fighting with Cyrus. She hated the tension and blame and the guilt that always shadowed arguments.              

She went over her conversation with Cole and with Cyrus and knew she wouldn’t change anything.
Cole had to know that men like her father would stand for Perry. And right now, Cyrus needed to now that he had to trust her and her love for him. The question was
why didn’t he
?

Ava stared at the sky as it slowly turned softer and darker.
The purple shadows crept up the canyon walls and she glanced over her shoulder at the house. She needed to talk to her dad about Perry and Cole, but after her fight with Cyrus she just wasn’t up to it. She stood up fluidly and stretched up as high as she could, her fingers coming together as she felt her human body slowly shimmer and take on the lines of a beautiful pale brown wolf. She dropped to her feet and circled around the large rock before lying down and resting her muzzle on her front paws. She would camp out tonight. This way, her wolf senses would protect her if anyone or anything tried to sneak up on her. Cyrus couldn’t be mad at her since she was so close to the house. She closed her eyes and fell into a dark and slow sleep punctuated with dreams and visions of running through the woods.

When she woke up, it was dawn.
She hopped off the rock and lifted her face to smell the cool morning breeze. She leaped down the path that headed to the house and jumped easily over the fence. As she landed, she landed on her own human feet. She yawned and stretched automatically as she walked slowly toward the house. She hoped Patricia was up and making her pecan waffles. If she wasn’t, she was going to make them herself. She did a couple cartwheels to loosen up before she reached the steps leading up to the back porch of the house.

As she reached the door knob, she heard something that sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine.
Screaming
. Someone was in excruciating pain.

Ava ripped open the door and ran through the house following the sounds of the wrenching screaming shrieks and flew into the front parlor where she found her father, Tobias and Patricia kneeling besides Cyrus as he lay writhing on the floor, his hands in claws at the side of his head.

“Cyrus!” she screamed and ran to his side, flinging herself onto the floor beside him and putting her hands on his chest.

The wrenching, horrible sounds Cyrus was making ceased almost immediately, and his chest heaved in and out, searching for air.
His hands slowly lowered from his face and he blinked at her as if he couldn’t believe she was there.

“Cyrus, what’s wrong?
What has happened?” she demanded, feeling his arms and chest for injuries. When he didn’t answer, she glared at her father and Cyrus’s parents. “What’s wrong with him?
Tell me!
” she yelled, feeling panic at the tense and upset faces surrounding her.

Harry pulled her gently away from Cyrus as he continued to stare at her, breathing hard but not screaming any longer.

“Ava, where have you been all night? We looked everywhere for you. Cyrus thought you had left him. He’s been in agony for hours,” he said gravely, looking back at Cyrus with compassion in his eyes.

Ava’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, staring over her father’s arm at the man she had sworn herself too.
“
Why?
” she whispered, shaking her head back and forth. “Why would you think I’d leave you?” she demanded, pushing her father’s hands aside to move back toward Cyrus who was now sitting up, staring at her with haunted, ravaged eyes.

“You said
, if I didn’t trust you, then we don’t have any basis for a relationship. Then you disappeared. What was I supposed to think? You were gone,” he said, his voice sounding low and raspy.

Ava closed her eyes and sat back on her heels, as pain filled her heart.
“I was out on your rock thinking last night. I was so upset by our argument and the fact that you really don’t trust me, that I stayed out there in my wolf form. I never left you Cyrus. I love you. But this is too much . . . ,” she murmured gesturing to him lying on the floor, still pale and shaky. “You not only don’t trust me, you’re already going through withdrawals,” she said standing up and moving away from him.

Patricia and Tobias who had been silent the whole time stood up and moved quickly to her side.
              “Ava, don’t overreact to this. Cyrus has never been in love before. Having a mate is a serious thing and Cyrus is transitioning. It will take time for his feelings to settle and for him to be easy with you. Think of how he almost lost you Ava. And now with Cole trying as hard as he can to cause problems between you two, can you blame him?” Tobias pleaded.

Ava bit her lip and looked at her feet without answering.
Patricia ran a tired hand through her spiky red hair before reaching for Ava’s hands. “Honey, it’s been a hard night for all of us. With Cyrus in agony, and the hybrid Kurt saw behind the pub, we’re all exhausted and upset. Tobias and I are going to go rest. You and Cyrus need to talk and work this out. For everyone’s sake,” she said before taking her husband’s hand and leading him out of the room.

Ava sighed and looked at her father.
He seemed worried and pensive as he looked at her. He walked to her side and put his arms around his daughter, hugging her tightly.

“Ava, you do have a choice in mates.
But you’re the one who chose Cyrus. Dealing with a man who is in love and also a werewolf has its pitfalls and dangers. We’re a pretty possessive bunch. Have some compassion on Cyrus, okay? Come talk to me after you two have worked things out. Perry said you needed to tell me some things,” he said curiously before kissing her on the cheek and leaving her alone with Cyrus.

As the door to the parlor shut she looked over to see Cyrus had collapsed tiredly on the couch, his head thrown back and his arm over his eyes as his breathing still hadn’t calmed down.
She thought about what her father had said about having compassion and she let out a long breath.

“You know this is my first relationship with a man.
I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” she said to herself as she walked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of Cyrus’s collapsed form.

“I don’t really understand all the ins and outs of a relationship
. I know I don’t like fighting with you and I know I hate it when you’re jealous. I also know that I could very well be a hypocrite because I would hate the idea of another woman trying to steal you away. But I know you love me Cyrus. I trust you. Why can’t you trust me?” she asked quietly.